Established in 2006, American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) provides critical perspectives and analysis of indigenous peoples in children's and young adult books, the school curriculum, popular culture, and society. Scroll down for links to book reviews, Native media, and more.

Thursday, September 06, 2012

This is exciting news out of Canada from CODE, a Canadian NGO that supports literacy and learning! From the CODE website:

The Burt Award for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Literature is a
unique literary award and readership initiative established by CODE with
the generous support of philanthropist William Burt and the Literary
Prizes Foundation that recognizes excellence in First Nations, Métis and
Inuit literature for youth and provide engaging and culturally-relevant
books for young people across Canada.

In partnership with the Assembly of First Nations, the Métis National
Council, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the National Association of
Friendship Centres, the Association of Canadian Publishers, and the
Canada Council for the Arts, the Award will be given annually to three
English-language literary works for young adults (aged 12 through 18) by
First Nations, Métis or Inuit authors or translators (if applicable).
The Canada Council for the Arts will be responsible for establishing the
selection criteria and administering the jury process. A First Prize of
$12,000, a Second Prize of $8,000 and a Third Prize of $5,000 will be
awarded to the authors and translators (if applicable) of the winning
titles. Winning publishers will participate in a guaranteed book
purchase and distribution program in which CODE commits to purchasing a
minimum of 2500 copies of each title at a bulk discount for distribution
to schools, libraries, and Friendship Centres that serve First Nations,
Métis and Inuit youth across Canada.

Publishers operating in Canada can submit English works of prose
fiction or non-fiction written by First Nations, Métis or Inuit authors.
Published books and unpublished manuscripts are eligible. In the case
of published entries, they must have been published between May 1, 2010
and April 30, 2013.

The deadline for submissions for the inaugural Burt Award for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Literature is May 1, 2013. Winning titles will be announced in September 2013.

Tuesday, September 04, 2012

Capstone Classoom is offering a "Common Core Grade 3 Curriculum Bundle" that includes Sally Senzell Isaacs's Life in a Sioux Village. I took a quick look at it and set it aside when I saw this page:

Look at the map. It isn't dated. Nowhere are we given information about what time period the map reflects... See the southwest part? Four states are missing: New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada. The first two became states in 1912, while Utah gained statehood in 1896 and Nevada in 1864. Do you have this book in your library? Or, one of the other books in this "Life in a..." series? What do those maps look like?

And the caption that says "over 30" Native groups "once lived" on the Great Plains? It was--and is--a lot more than 30.

I wonder what the other books in the bundle are like? If you've purchased this bundle, remove this book. Life in a Sioux Village -- not recommended.

First Peoples listed AICL as one of the Top Five Native Blogs and Podcast to follow. School Library Journal's Elizabeth Burns featured AICL as her Blog of the Day on July 2, 2007, and in 2007, the ALA's Association for Library Service to Children invited Debbie to write a blog post for their site.

American Indian? Or, Native American? There is no agreement among Native peoples. Both are used. It is best to be specific. Example: Instead of "Debbie Reese, a Native American," say "Debbie Reese, a Nambe Pueblo Indian woman."